Renewing a Promise
by Mookamori
Summary: Set after the Final Episode of the Anime. After an argument with Elie, Haru tries to set things straight, and the two talk about their past and future. Spoilers AHOY! Please R&R!


(6/28/05) - While revisiting my old fics, I stumbled upon this one, and alas! No disclaimer! So I'll fix that now, and I'll probably make some minor corrections to the grammar and spelling, and probably the formatting too. Storywise, nothing new's been added.

**Author's Note** – It's my first Groove Adventure RAVE fanfiction, so please be gentle. This takes place right after the last TV episode, and just before any significant events. Think of this as a kind of side story.

There may be some parts that happened during the series, and you might notice that the dialogue is different. Since I really can't remember the exact words, I took the liberty of creating new lines while still trying to keep the essence of what they were talking about.

Hope you like it! Enjoy!

* * *

"Geez…I swear, these guys can really cut loose…" 

Haru muttered as he relieved himself in the men's comfort room. He was the only occupant that night, as the rest of the crew were either drinking from the barrels or had already passed out. He didn't drink though, since he was still underage, and excused himself before the crew began their game of "Drunken Hangman," where they have to guess what the player was saying in a certain number of tries or he dives into a gigantic keg of beer.

Tonight's party was taken care of by the Silver-Rhythm, a notorious gang of thieves, which was led by the equally notorious leader who went by the name of Musica, a skilled thief and a Silver-Claimer. Haru wouldn't really be here right now if he hadn't befriended him.

He zipped up his pants and washed his hands and face. He took a good long look into the mirror. His moist silvery hair draped around him like a spiky mop. He then grabbed a towel to dry it, and then looked back. Nothing changed.

He sighed in defeat, and exited the comfort room. He then walked back to the bar, where the party was held.

Once a very wild party with music and laughter abound, it certainly quieted down, Haru observed. Most of the Silver-Rhythm crew was already sleeping on wherever they fell on, either on the floor, on the table, and even on the beer kegs.

He carefully skipped over the sleeping masses on the floor over to the table with the only remaining awake people: Musica and Let.

Musica was way past drunk, and was either slurring in his speech or singing off-key. He was absentmindedly fiddling with his silver skull necklace, turning into a gob of silver and shapechanging into various forms. Let on the other hand, kept a calm and stoic composure, as always. His arms were crossed and his back was straight. These two seemed to be total opposites of each other.

"What's up, Musica, Let?" Haru called, as he sat with them. Let didn't say a word. Haru thought he was deep in thought. Fortunately, Musica was sober enough to recognize his old friend.

"Heyy, Harooo, wasshup?" Musica blabbered, before hiccupping.

"Take it easy, Musica! Look at Let, he's still okay," Haru said, though not the least bit surprised. Let was known for control and concentration. He was the last person Haru expected to get drunk.

"Naaaaaniii? Let not drunk? Stop kidding with me, Haru! Check this out!" Musica retorted, then gave a light tap on the back of Let's head.

Like a dead weight, he fell face first on the table. His arms were still crossed, his back was still straight (horizontally, anyway), and his face was as emotionless as could be.

"Heh, he passed out WAY before Ruby or Griff!" Musica yelled, laughing like crazy, "So much for Let, of the Dragon Race!"

"Yeah…WHAT! You let Ruby drink! He's just a kid!" Haru suddenly blurted out, his jaw almost dropping to the floor in disbelief.

Musica just pointed his thumb backwards, and Haru's gaze followed. The pink penguin (though sometimes, Haru observed, that he doesn't look at all like a penguin. He looks like a duck with a flat head) was snoring loudly, with a bit of drool dribbling down his beak. On top of him was Griffon Kato, their odd, blue guide that somehow was a cross between a jellyfish and an Easter Island Head, floating in his sleep.

"Whoa…even Griff's drunk," Haru wondered aloud.

"Haru-san, I'm not drunk," Griff loudly stated matter-of-factly. Haru almost burst through the roof.

Pulling himself off the ceiling, Haru remembered that Griff didn't sleep like normal people do (though he wasn't really normal). Not only did he float while sleeping, but also one could talk to him and still had a decent conversation.

"I'll have to know how he does that when we get to the memory of the planet," Haru muttered to himself.

Then Griff began to mumble, "Oh, Elie-san, for me?" On his bright blue face, a tinge of red was appearing below his eyes. He continued, "Oh, what a nice camera…what? You want me to take naked pictures of you? Why, I'll be happy to…"

Griff was about to say something more but Haru already kicked him. He was sent flying across the room, but he stopped as he reached the ceiling. He stayed there like a balloon, completely unaffected.

"Oh, Elie-san, you're making me blush," Griff muttered happily, "Ureshi…"

Haru had half the mind to use Explosion on him, but he still needed the whole ship intact.

_Elie…_ Haru thought, then asked Musica, "Hey, Musica, where's Elie?"

"Don't you remember, Mr. Party Pooper?" Musica slurred, trying very hard to stay awake, "Y-You sent her to bed since she had that b-broken arm…"

"Oh…oh yeah," Haru mumbled in reply.

Elie didn't really appreciate what Haru had in mind for her. She had a broken arm and Haru thought that it needed time and plenty of rest to heal, so this wild party Musica had in mind was completely out of the question. He was simply looking out for her best interests, so he asked her to go to bed right away.

He remembered…

_"But, Haru! I wanna play and have fun!" Elie protested, "It looks like this party is going to be exciting!"_

_This sudden argument happened right after they boarded the ship, leaving Symphonia. Musica's right-hand man, Snake, wanted to have some kind of party to celebrate Elie's recovered memory. He even hired this weird-looking guitarist named Mashima to sing for them._

_Everyone didn't mind Elie joining the party, except one._

_"No, Elie! You have to heal that arm of yours," Haru retorted, " Who knows what might happen…it could get worse!"_

_"Daijoubu! See? It's getting better!" Elie then shook her arm tied to a makeshift sling. Though it was only for a moment, Haru caught her wince in pain._

_Haru remained obstinate and said in a loud voice, "NO! You'll have to understand that this is for your own good!"_

_He'd never forget her expression that time. A mix of sadness and anger, her face instantly pained him, making it feel like his heart was being stabbed by millions of needles. Then, tears welled up in her bright brown eyes._

_"Haru…" Elie muttered, lowering her head. Her brown hair covered her face, hiding her emotions._

_"Haru…"_

_Then, small, crystalline tears began to fall._

_"HARU NO BAKA!" Elie yelled, full of anger and spite, then ran away into the ship._

She'd understand_, Haru thought, _She'll understand…

"Hey, Musica…you think I did the right thing?" Haru asked aloud, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in his seat.

No reply. Haru looked at him. It looked like he fell asleep a long time ago. He sighed, and then exited the bar. He closed the door behind him, the snores of the Silver-Rhythm crew softening until the doors clicking shut drowned it out.

He walked around the ship, wrapped in his own thoughts.

_I did the right thing, didn't I? _Haru thought, as he walked, _I was just looking out for her. I promised to protect her, and that's what I did…right?_

He remembered her tears.

"Kusou," Haru muttered, cursing under his breath repeatedly, "Kusou, Kusou, Kusou…did I really do the right thing?"

He then remembered one similar incident. It was while they were walking around Symphonia, right after they barely made it out of alive the Death Storm, a perpetual typhoon that surrounded the land. They were searching for a clue as to find where the next Rave piece was. Elie was leading the way.

It was then that when they were getting closer, the more pain Elie had. Her memories were possibly resurfacing too fast, and it was too much for her. She suffered a terrible headache, and Haru couldn't bear to see her in pain.

"That's it…we're going back," Haru decided, "Elie can't take this anymore."

Let, still in his half-dragon form back then, suddenly said, "Stand up, Elie. Lead the way."

Elie did stand up, and even apologized to Let. Haru was obviously infuriated, and he said, "How can you be so cold-hearted, Let! Can't you see that she's suffering because of this? We have to go back! Aren't you even concerned about Elie?"

"I AM concerned, you fool! That is why I still push her, to go forward!" Let retorted, just as infuriated. Haru was seething.

Let continued, "I know that she's in pain, I know that she's suffering, but that's exactly the reason why I keep her from going back! Right now, she's working the hardest of us all, and is risking her life to find the Raves. She's doing it because she knows that she can be of help to you. You want to take that away from her? You want to take away those intentions?"

Haru was dumbstruck. He never thought of it that way. Nevertheless, Let did not relent. He said, "Of all of us right now, you're the one who's least concerned about her!"

Elie, probably seeing that Haru was feeling down, quickly intervened, saying, "Don't be too harsh, Let. Haru is a kind guy…that's his true nature."

After that, they continued, but Haru still felt guilty and a bit depressed, the same way he was feeling now.

The only difference now was, Let did not berate him, and Elie didn't defend him. In fact, Elie got mad at him.

"Elie," Haru mumbled to himself, hating himself more and more, "If I could, I would have gladly switched places with you… I would have been the one to get hurt instead of you…"

_That's his true nature_.

Was he so kind that he was so blind to true feelings?

Or was it because he was being selfish? Being with Elie made him feel so whole, so complete, maybe even happy, and seeing her in pain hurt him as well. So, he wanted her to go back so that he'll feel better too.

_But, Let was right_, Haru thought, in anger, _I didn't consider her feelings. All I was thinking about then was myself._

He promised to protect her. He wanted to protect her.

He'll die if he had to.

But seeing her angry and sad like this made him feel like jumping off the ship. It made him feel so miserable and stupid and sad.

He looked into the sky. The dark, inky blackness of the sky made him feel even more depressed, and the bright full moon seemed like an eye that was looking down on him.

"What should I do, nee-chan?" Haru asked aloud. Haru often turned to her older sister, Cattleya, when he was in trouble. But he knew that she wasn't here now, and no matter how loud he asked, she'd never hear his question.

But it already turned into a habit, and it somehow made him feel better. And somehow, he always felt her presence.

"I guess I should apologize, right, nee-chan?"

The wind, as if on cue, blew a strong wind, as if to reply to his question. He smiled. At least now, he knew what to do.

He started to walk towards Elie's room, feeling nervous, when he noticed that no matter where he looked, he didn't see a single crewmember.

"Did all of them go to the party?" Haru asked himself.

Then, a thought struck him, and it filled him with dread. "If all of them went to the party…then who's piloting the ship!"

And as if on cue, the ship started to descend, slow at first, then rapidly. Haru grabbed on to the nearby railing for dear life.

But almost immediately, it stabilized, regaining altitude, until it was steady and flying straight again. Haru, shaking like crazy, hesitantly let go of the railing, fearing that he didn't notice that the ship was already upside-down, and that he'd fall into the ocean if he let go.

Thankfully, he was still on deck, and he heaved a long sigh of relief.

"Whew…I think my organs need rearranging," Haru muttered, then decided to go first to the captain's cabin before to Elie's. After all, Haru thought, with a morbid grin, what's the point of apologizing when you're dead?

Despite its size, Haru already knew the ins and outs of the Silver Knights airship by hand, and made it to the cabin in no time flat. He was about to turn the doorknob when someone had just beaten him to it. Instead, he had grabbed onto the hand.

Haru suddenly felt warm and even pleased when he touched it. The skin was soft and smooth, maybe even delicate. The fingers were slender and fine, and as he unconsciously held onto them, Haru felt, though somewhat unconsciously, happy.

Then, he was snapped back into reality when somebody called out his name frantically.

He had not seen whom the hand belonged to. He quickly traced it up the arm, which was covered with sleeves of pajamas, then to the face.

Haru nearly died.

"ELIE?" Haru gasped, backing away in horror.

"Haru…" Elie mumbled, looking away.

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned from surprise to discomfort. The both of them were feeling ill at ease with each other.

"Uh…" Haru started.

Elie didn't say a word. She was fiddling with the slip her broken arm was wearing.

"What are you doing here?" Haru asked.

"I was going to check on who's piloting the ship, since it all of a sudden lurched a while ago," Elie replied curtly, still refusing to look at him. Haru was a bit shocked, though he did expect it.

"That's odd," Haru said, trying hard to sound as casual as possible, "I was going to do the same thing."

It startled her a bit, but she suppressed the emotion. "Well?"

"Well? Oh yeah, sure, let's see…" Haru answered.

He opened the door and entered. Elie followed.

They looked at who was handling the wheel.

"Puuweeeeeehhhh…" 

They almost crashed through the floor in sheer disbelief.

"PLUE!" They cried out simultaneously.

It was Plue, their strange pet, piloting the ship. In his round head, under his yellow, drill-like nose, in his mouth, was a huge lollipop, probably given to him by Griff. He was sucking on it happily as he steered the ship.

"No way!" They blurted out at the same time.

Since he was too small, he had to be standing on a stool to hold the wheel properly. Around the stool, were several boxes of the lollipop.

"Darn that Musica…" Haru mumbled, a bit angrily, "Bribing Plue to steer the ship while he gets himself drunk!"

But, something about a small _something_ (Elie and Haru never really figured out what he was) piloting a HUGE airship, moaning "Puuuweeeeeh" occasionally as he sucked on his favorite candy, even drooling a bit, made him smirk.

Then that smirk turned into a chuckle.

But Elie beat him to it, when she started to laugh out loud.

Haru caught on to it like a contagious disease and started to laugh as well. Their laughing started to drown out Plue's moans, which were getting a tad agitated.

Haru pointed at Plue, laughing, "Oh man…LOOK AT THAT, hahaha…my stomach hurts…"

Elie tried to hold her laughter, but instead tried to keep her stomach from bursting. "Hahahahaha, oh gosh…wow…ahahaha…"

Unknown to them, Plue suddenly had an evil look on his normally cute and placid face. Biting on the lollipop hard, he quickly rotated the wheel to the right.

And the whole world went tumbling as Haru was suddenly flipped off from where he stood and on to a wall. Elie, shrieking, was flung towards Haru's direction.

"AAARGH!" Haru yelled, feeling queasy quite rapidly, "Gomennasai, Plue! Gomen!"

"Yeah! We're sorry, Plue! Gomen ne!" Elie added, feeling sick.

Content, Plue pulled back the wheel in its original place, and the airship reverted back to its usual position.

Meanwhile, drunken Musica, who suddenly woke up, was wondering why there was a booted foot on his face…and why he was underneath his whole crew. He was about to do something when Ruby, still drunk and sleeping, fell on him. He passed out almost immediately.

Back in the cabin, Plue moaned a triumphant "Puuuweeeh Puweeeh!" as he sucked on his candy even more vigorously. Haru and Elie were sitting on the floor, trying to catch their breaths.

"Whew…never thought…whew, never thought Plue could something like that…" Haru remarked, breathing heavily.

"I never even thought he could pilot a ship!" Elie added, just as tired.

"Well, I bet we could never really understand Plue…huh!" Haru suddenly realized the position he was in.

Since Plue did some mid-air airship acrobatics a while ago, Elie was flung towards Haru. In complete reflex, he caught her before she crashed towards the wall. He absorbed the painful impact for the both of them. They were on the floor, Haru's arms instinctively around Elie.

Elie obviously realized this as well, and suddenly moved away from him. She found it hard to be near him. She then abruptly stood up.

"Ah, well…I guess we know who's piloting it, neh? I-I guess I could go now… ja ne!" Elie blurted, then headed for the door.

Haru was about to just let her go when suddenly, he thought, _What the heck are you doing! If you don't apologize now, you'll never get the chance again! She'll hate you forever if you keep delaying!_

Then, suddenly, even surprising himself, he yelled, "WAIT!"

Elie stopped, but didn't look at him. She was already at the door.

"Elie…please, may I talk to you? I know it's late and all, but I have something important to tell you…" Haru said, feeling ashamed. He somehow felt her uneasiness, and he knew that it was entirely his fault.

The last thing he wanted was to be in bad terms with Elie.

"Please?" He said again, feeling more desperate.

He treasured her so much.

"Meet me…meet me at the front of the ship," Elie replied, a bit awkwardly, then bolted out.

Haru sighed in relief. At last, he had a chance.

* * *

"Well…uh," Haru started. He fidgeted uncomfortably in his end of the bench. 

Elie and Haru were at the front of the ship. Haru had brought a bench for them to sit on…not that he was planning to make a move or anything. It was the nearest one.

It had been several minutes after they met here, and Haru had not said a sensible thing. He kept glancing at Elie, who was still wearing her pajamas. She was just sitting on her end of the bench, looking at the stars.

"Well…it's, er…uh, well, anou…" Haru blabbered. He knew that he wasn't making any sense and it irritated him.

He glanced at her one more time.

The pale moonlight seemed to give her an ephemeral glow of a sort. It bathed her like a cool aura, and her brown eyes seemed to glitter. Her profile was clearly outlined in the light: her well-defined body, her beautiful hair, her lips...

_Her lips…_

He almost went berserk when those same lips kissed Lucia Rareglove, the self-proclaimed Dark Bring Master. He forced himself on Elie, who cried afterwards, crying about losing her "first time" to him. At that time, he wanted so badly to beat him into a pulp.

But, seeing those lips kiss still made him a little jealous.

Now, they seemed so luscious, so tempting, and Haru could only try and hide his emotions. He tugged at the collar at his shirt. Despite the cold night breeze, he was feeling oddly warm.

_No! Get back to the topic, you idiot, _Haru thought in a reprimanding way, knocking his head with his fist.

"Are you all right? Maybe we should…" Elie was about to say something more when Haru interrupted, saying, "No. Please."

Elie fell silent again and patiently waited for Haru to say something.

Taking one final gulp, breathing deeply, he began, "It's…well, it's kinda like this. About what happened earlier…"

Haru was absentmindedly twiddling his fingers. Sweat was dripping down his warm face.

"Well…I'm, I'm sorry…"

Elie was surprised, to say the least. Eyes wide and locked on to Haru, she gasped as Haru continued.

Feeling more ashamed of himself by the moment, he said, "I thought I was doing what was best for you, but I never really considered your feelings. I guess I was thinking about myself. Remember what Let told me before?"

Hesitant, Elie said in reply, "'You're the one who's least concerned about her?'"

"Yeah," Haru answered, with a sad nod, "I guess it's the same now. To be honest…Elie, I don't really like it when you get hurt."

"Haru…" Elie felt her heartbeat go a little faster.

"It made me feel so bad when I see you getting hurt, every time! I don't know why, though… my heart just seems to get really heavy…anyway, the point is, with your broken arm, I thought by putting you to bed, I can relieve myself of that pain. But I guess I should've thought more on how you felt about it…"

Haru had stopped playing with his fingers a long time ago. Now, he couldn't even bear to look at Elie. His head was drooped and turned away, his long silver hair hiding his face. His fists were clenched tightly.

"Honto ni gomen nasai," he hoarsely apologized again, with so much contempt.

He expected her to laugh at him, to make him feel worse, to taunt him. He expected her to scream at him in anger. He expected her to just leave him there. Haru was expecting plenty of negative things, and he thought that he rightfully deserved it.

But something warm closed in on his fist. It felt so soothing, so relaxing, it seemed to lighten the burden in his heart by its mere touch. He turned to see what it was.

It was her hand.

She was smiling.

"Elie…" That was the only thing he could say.

"Do you remember when we first met, at that casino?" Elie asked casually.

"Uh, yeah," Haru replied, not really seeing where this was going.

"I was…well, pretty much down on my luck then," Elie said.

"Stop joking! You won every game you played! You raked in lots of money," Haru replied, flabbergasted.

"Not in that sense," Elie retorted, shaking her head, "I was… I was trying to not think about my predicament, at the time. I had no clue where to go, who to talk to, how to do things. I didn't know how to restore my memory… I could've kept walking and still haven't found a single hint of my past.

"That's why I kept playing…so that maybe I can try to forget about trying to remember my past…sounds silly, huh?" Elie asked, trying to sound cheerful, but her voice betrayed her, showing signs of sadness.

Haru was just silent and urged her to go on.

"I had no idea what to do…before you came along, Haru," Elie said, smiling a bit.

"Me?"

"Yes…if you hadn't come to that town, then maybe I'd still be roaming around the continent and still not remember a single thing. If you hadn't offered your help, then I'd still be in the dark. To be honest…I'm really quite grateful."

Haru remembered that day well, because, after all, it was when they first met. When he offered to help her find her memory, he thought that it was what any decent person would have done. He never thought that Elie regarded it that way.

Elie continued, her voice growing stronger by each word, "After that, it was one misadventure after the other. We met lots of people, like Musica, the old Musica, Let, Mr. Bear…"

"That's Deerhound, Elie," Haru was about to say, but kept his mouth shut.

"…Griff, Tanchimo, Sieghart, Sorasido, Remi-san and Fua-san and a lot more. They all helped us out a lot," Elie said, pausing to catch her breath.

"Don't forget Plue!" Haru reminded with a grin.

"Yes, of course! Also, we went through some life-threatening situations…lots of fights too, like with Lance and Shuda, with the Oracion Seis and, with Demon Card, especially. But even after all that, you…you always remembered your promise to me. Even though…even though…"

Her voice was breaking up. Even though she had a smile, tears were starting to well up in her eyes. Seeing her like this made Haru's heart feel heavier by the moment.

She continued, "Even though you were the Rave Master, and that you were sorta destined to save the world and stuff, you never forgot about me. You always were there for me, even if you had to risk your life to do it. You never forgot the promise."

Her free hand covered her face. She was sobbing freely now, and Haru was so astounded that all he could was just watch her and listen to her. He no longer felt the cold of the night, heard the whistling wind nor saw his surroundings. His entire self was focused on Elie.

"Y-You were always there to p-protect me, even if it hurt you," she continued, sobbing and gasping, "Y-You were always there to be with me when I needed you the most. If you hadn't come to my life…I don't know what could've happened…I don't wanna think about it…"

Then, she suddenly turned to him. Her hand was no longer covering her face now, and Haru beheld her tear-streaked face, her bright hazel brown eyes, shimmering with her tears. He bit his lip, because for some reason, his throat hurt.

"I'm so…SO happy to have met you. I'm so happy that you care about me so much…I'm so happy…"

Then, unable to control herself anymore, flooded with all the pent up emotions that she had been feeling for all this time, she flung herself at Haru, grabbing onto his shirt. Then, on his chest, she started to cry.

He couldn't help shedding some tears himself, as she wailed loudly. He tightly embraced her, feeling her warmth through her small body. He gently stroked her fragrant hair, trying to comfort her.

"Promise me, Haru!" She shouted into him, beset with emotion, "Please promise me that you'll never leave me…please…"

He hugged her tighter and whispered into her ear, "I'll never leave you. I'll be with you forever, I promise."

"Really?" Elie asked, overwhelmed with so much happiness.

"Yeah, because I can't go on without you…" Haru replied, his hand softly stroking her back.

"Why?" Elie asked, puzzled.

"It's the way you smile…"

"Really?"

"I don't know why," Haru whispered, shrugging, "But I really don't care. For some reason…it gives me energy to go on."

"Maybe it's Ethelion?" she wondered.

"That can't be…it's all you, I bet," he replied.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she said, giggling.

They don't know how long they've held on to each other like that, but when they've finally let go, it seemed so short. Though they never said it out loud, they wanted to stay in each other's arms longer.

But they stayed together as they watched the stars. Elie's head was comfortably resting on Haru's shoulder, and their hands held on to each other.

Haru sighed, thinking, _Nothing could go wrong…it definitely can't get any better than this…_

"Um…Haru?" Elie asked gingerly.

"Yes?"

"Uh…well…"

"What is it?"

Elie was nervous; Haru could see that. She timidly moved away from him, though she still held his hand. She couldn't even look at him.

But Haru did see that her face was awfully red. He had no idea what Elie was thinking.

"Um…"

"Elie?"

"Well…my, uh…" she babbled.

"You're not making any sense," Haru said with an amused chuckle.

"I know, I'm sorry," she quickly apologized, scratching her head.

Then it was Haru's turn to blush. Seeing her fidget nervously, he thought, _she's cute when she's doing that._

But he tried hard to stay calm and said, "Well, uh, what do you want to say?"

She clenched her fist, breathed deep, and somehow still felt nervous. She mumbled, getting more anxious by the moment, "Well…uh, it's like…even though it's…it's my second time, and since my…well, first time was screwed up…"

The thought shot through his head like greased lightning. At first he was uncertain, but he knew that he was in denial. Although he didn't believe it, he PERFECTLY knew what she was talking about.

And his reply was, "Uh…"

Elie couldn't say more. If she dared to speak, she was afraid her head might go up in flames.

"Uh…o-okay, I guess…" Haru managed to mumble.

They sat themselves on the bench in a way that they would be facing each other. They neither dared to face each other, both looking different ways. Elie was nervously fiddling with the sleeves of her pajamas, while Haru was anxiously tapping on his lap.

Haru was having numerous thoughts in his head, mainly about how to do it. He had an idea on how to do it, but to exactly do it, he wasn't so sure. He couldn't decide whether it was instinct that ruled over this kind of situations or thinking over it. He didn't know if he should close his eyes or not. He wasn't sure if it should be a short peck on the lips or one of those long, locked, passionate ones he saw in the movies. Basically, he was nervous about messing it up.

But the prospect of kissing Elie made him even more nervous. Of course he had been thinking about it before, but to for it to actually happen in reality, that was an entirely different thing.

He shot a short glance at Elie. He sighed a little in relief, because he observed that she was undergoing the same kind of nervousness.

He thought, _Maybe I should ask her how…_

Then, he turned to face her.

Apparently, she had the same idea, because she turned to face him.

"Elie, I…uh," he could say no more. Her eyes had him trapped. He was drowning in those luminescent hazel pools, and it made him gasp for air. His heart was beating faster and faster by the minute, and, somehow, his face was moving closer to Elie's on its own.

Elie, on the other hand, saw him gawk at her. She madly blushed at the sudden attention, though she couldn't turn away. She brought it up, so she had to see it through the end, though, she admitted, she really didn't mind the current outcome.

They were very close now. Their noses almost touched, and their breaths mingled. They were getting extremely conscious of what was happening, but neither of them stopped what they were doing.

Haru subconsciously placed his hand on Elie's shoulder and gently pulled her closer. Elie unknowingly placed her free hand on Haru's chest, almost feeling his rapid heartbeat.

The tips of their lips touched, and they backed away a little bit. The sudden rush, which felt like a sudden jolt of electricity, was completely unexpected, though for some reason, pleasurable.

Composing themselves the best they can, they closed the already narrow distance further.

Elie's and Haru's eyes closed.

Haru's arms moved under Elie's and around her back.

Elie placed her hand on the side of Haru's head, feeling her silvery hair on her fingertips.

They could feel their hot breaths clashing against each other.

They could hear each other breathing.

"Haru…" Elie breathlessly gasped.

They could smell the nervous sweat that trickled down their faces.

"Elie…" Haru mumbled in return.

They could almost taste each other's lips.

"I GOTCHA!" Musica yelled.

And in an instant, they were at the ends of their seats, and their wits. Elie was breathing heavily, her heartbeat resounding throughout her body. Haru was both catching his breath and muttering numerous curses under his breath.

They looked behind and saw Musica, still drunk, totter around the deck of the ship, looking for his bedroom. In his hand was an unfinished bottle of saké. He stumbled around some more before finally going inside what he thought was his bedroom, but was actually the bar again.

"Well…that was…" Haru said aloud. He thought that he had to say something.

"Kinda…exciting, huh?" Elie replied, still catching her breath.

"Yeah, I guess it was…" Haru remarked.

"I think I should go back to my room now," Elie said.

"Yeah, me too."

Then, without saying a word, they went their separate ways.

* * *

In Haru's room, he was on his bed, though still wide-awake. He was replaying tonight's past events in full detail, and he was reviewing their "kiss" most. 

He sighed, mumbling, "Maybe if Musica hadn't come, then maybe…"

The thought that came after made him feel a bit nauseous, the kind of nauseous after riding a thrilling roller coaster.

He was reviewing one part of their talk, and it was the part about her smile.

He really did not why that smile did that to him. Something about the way she smiled made him feel reenergized, ready for more challenges. That smile kept him going, and in his heart, he was glad that he met that girl who would always smile for him.

Though he never really understood why.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a knock came from his door.

"Who could it be at this time?" Haru mumbled, as he walked on over and opened the door.

His jaw almost dropped off in disbelief. It was Elie.

"Elie? Why…what are you doing here?"

She was wearing her pajamas, and she had a pillow with her.

She seemed very sheepish as she said, "I don't know why…I couldn't sleep."

Haru smiled. "Come on in. You can sleep here."

Then Elie smiled for him once again, and Haru suddenly felt alive. "Really? Arigato gozaimasu, Haru!"

She happily skipped through the door and sat on the bed. "Come on! Hayaku!" Elie cheerfully yelled, wearing her usual big grin as she patted the bed, "It's getting late. We've got a big day tomorrow."

Haru didn't know why that smile made him feel so happy. Haru didn't know why Elie's smile made him feel like he could take on the world.

But now, he really didn't care.

As long as she could keep smiling for him, and as long as she could be with him, nothing could make Haru happier. He would love to see her smile for him everyday and for the rest of his life.

"Hai…I'm coming," Haru replied, smiling his own honest smile, and closed the door.

* * *

The End. 

**_DISCLAIMER_**

I, Mookamori,do not own Groove Adventure Rave (Rave Master), and I also do not own any of the characters in the story above, like Haru Glory, Elie, Musica, etc. However, the events in this piece, I do own, so there

Thanks to Hiro Mashima for making such an enjoyable anime, as well as likeable characters like Haru and Elie. It certainly made my high-school days a lot more fun. Thanks also to AXN for getting it and subbing it in all its Japanese-voiced glory.

And definitely, thanks to the readers for stopping by and reading this fanfic. I really hope you liked this story as much as I did thinking it up and writing it down.


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